Panthers slam Bates for first win of season Offense ignites as Middlebury puts up 41 points against the Bearcats

Author: Brooke Farquhar

After falling to Williams 39-18 on Homecoming weekend, the Panthers rebounded boldly on Saturday defeating Bates 41-7 for the first win of the season. Scott Secor '07 had an outstanding game with two interceptions, five tackles and a sack, earning him the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Week.

The Panthers' domination was felt early on by Bates, when Tiger Lyon '07 hit Ryan Armstrong '06 with a 21-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive of the game.

Bates answered with its only touchdown of the game, a 15-yard pass, late in the first quarter.

After driving 66 yards, Middlebury's offense scored again when Hrdina '07 scored an 18-yard touchdown. Hrdina had 100 yards on 25 carries.

For the second time in the first half, Lyon hit Armstrong for a 27-yard touchdown.

Secor intercepted a pass and ran 49 yards for the touchdown.

Lyon then rushed two yards to score late in the third quarter making the game score 34-7 at the start of the final quarter.

In the first play of the fourth quarter, Lyon hit Holm '09 for a two-yard touchdown, putting one more on the board.

Lyon completed 13 of 17 for 185 yards. Armstrong had five receptions for 77 yards and two touchdowns and Dom DiDomenico '06 had 50 yards.

Erik Woodring '08 and Coeman Hutzler '06 led the team in tackles.

The Panthers win came on the heels of a 39-18 loss to Williams the previous weekend. Neiman Groce '07 blocked an extra point and Alex Buggy '07 recovered a fumble early on in the game. Then Middlebury's offense got on the board when Steve Hauschka '07 hit a 38-yard field goal.

After Buggy's fumble recovery, Lyon connected with Derek Polsinello '08 for an 11-yard touchdown. After a half-hour lightning delay, the offense drove 80 yards, when DiDomenico scored with a four-yard rush up the middle.

Armstrong caught three passes for 38 yards and Lyon was 13 of 29 for 132 yards. Steve Shortle '09, a Vermont native, went five for nine with 26 yards in his college debut. Hutzler had 10 tackles and recovered a fumble.

Commenting on the Williams loss, Armstrong said, "The main thing was to stay positive. A lot of times after a losing streak, teams can start to fall apart and you can lose focus on the rest of your season. Fortunately, our team is very cohesive, and we didn't let our record affect our mindset for the rest of the season. We knew a win over Bates would get the ball rolling for a good start on the second half of the season."

This weekend the Panthers host Trinity, currently undefeated at 5-0. The Bantams are a perennial powerhouse who have been up to their usual antics this fall and there is little doubt that they will be at the top of their game.

The Panthers are not as intimidated coming off their first win, as Paul Thibodeau '08 said, "The win will carry over a lot of the confidence and momentum that are necessary to beat a 5-0 team".

On the upcoming Trinity game Armstrong commented, "building up our confidence and hard work will put us in a position to win against Trinity. It's no secret that Trinity is a very strong team, but the great thing about our league is that any team can beat any other team on any given day. If we prepare ourselves well enough mentally and physically, we'll go into the game with a great chance to upset them."

Although it is a longshot, Middlebury will prepare this week with all the confidence and focus of a successful program.

This season has provided some challenges and several games in which one play could have changed the entire flow of the game.

The win over Bates, which broke Middlebury's four-game losing streak, will hopefully give the Panthers what they need to break Trinity's winning streak.

The team is finding its "edge."